WEIGHED ON GOD'S SCALES AND FOUND WANTING

Passage: Daniel 5:22-31

Key verse: 27

NIV

22 “But you, Belshazzar, his son,[a] have not humbled(A) yourself, though you knew all this. 23 Instead, you have set yourself up against(B) the Lord of heaven. You had the goblets from his temple brought to you, and you and your nobles, your wives(C) and your concubines drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand.(D) But you did not honor the God who holds in his hand your life(E) and all your ways.(F) 24 Therefore he sent the hand that wrote the inscription.

25 “This is the inscription that was written:

mene, mene, tekel, parsin

26 “Here is what these words mean:

Mene[b]: God has numbered the days(G) of your reign and brought it to an end.(H)

27 Tekel[c]: You have been weighed on the scales(I) and found wanting.(J)

28 Peres[d]: Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes(K) and Persians.”(L)

29 Then at Belshazzar’s command, Daniel was clothed in purple, a gold chain was placed around his neck,(M) and he was proclaimed the third highest ruler in the kingdom.(N)

30 That very night Belshazzar,(O) king(P) of the Babylonians,[e] was slain,(Q) 31 and Darius(R) the Mede(S) took over the kingdom, at the age of sixty-two.[f]

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Footnotes
  1. Daniel 5:22 Or descendant; or successor
  2. Daniel 5:26 Mene can mean numbered or mina (a unit of money).
  3. Daniel 5:27 Tekel can mean weighed or shekel.
  4. Daniel 5:28 Peres (the singular of Parsin) can mean divided or Persia or a half mina or a half shekel.
  5. Daniel 5:30 Or Chaldeans
  6. Daniel 5:31 In Aramaic texts this verse (5:31) is numbered 6:1.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

22 And you his son,[a] (A)Belshazzar, (B)have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this, 23 but you have lifted up yourself against (C)the Lord of heaven. And (D)the vessels of his house have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them. (E)And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, (F)but the God in whose hand is your breath, and (G)whose are all your ways, (H)you have not honored.

24 “Then from his presence (I)the hand was sent, and this writing was inscribed. 25 And this is the writing that was inscribed: Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parsin. 26 This is the interpretation of the matter: Mene, God has numbered[b] the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; 27 Tekel, (J)you have been weighed[c] in the balances and found wanting; 28 Peres, your kingdom is divided and given to (K)the Medes and (L)Persians.”[d]

29 Then (M)Belshazzar gave the command, and Daniel (N)was clothed with purple, a chain of gold was put around his neck, and a proclamation was made about him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.

30 (O)That very night (P)Belshazzar the (Q)Chaldean king was killed. 31 [e] And (R)Darius (S)the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.

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Footnotes
  1. Daniel 5:22 Or successor
  2. Daniel 5:26 Mene sounds like the Aramaic for numbered
  3. Daniel 5:27 Tekel sounds like the Aramaic for weighed
  4. Daniel 5:28 Peres (the singular of Parsin) sounds like the Aramaic for divided and for Persia
  5. Daniel 5:31 Ch 6:1 in Aramaic
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway
1. Though you knew all, you defied God (22-25) Daniel sternly rebuked King Belshazzar for defying God though he knew the history: God deposed Nebuchadnezzar when he was proud but restored his kingship when he repented. Yet Belshazzar set himself up against the Lord of heaven by intentionally using the goblets from the temple of God for his drinking party. He praised the dead idols while dishonoring the living God who holds his life and all his ways. Therefore, the hand was sent to write God's judgment on the king and Babylon. 2. God numbers, weighs and divides... (26-31) Daniel revealed the meaning-- Mene: numbered; Tekel: weighed and found wanting; Parsin: divide in two. Altogether, the Sovereign God weighed and found the king wanting so he numbered and brought Belshazzar's day to an end. His kingdom would be divided between Mede and Persia. That very night the king was slain, and Darius of Mede took over Babylon exactly as God had shown. As Romans 3:23 says, when God weighed each of us on his scales, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Therefore, we all have to die like Belshazzar." (Rom 6:23) However, God opened the way for us not to perish but have eternal life (Jn 3:16). Praise Jesus!

Prayer: Lord, when you weigh me on your scales, I am far short of your glory. But I depend on Jesus who died for my lack of righteousness.

One Word: Jesus my righteousness